The Pill can slash your cancer risk for up to 35 years, major study finds

The oral contraceptive pill can protect you against some cancers for more than 35 years after taking it, a major study into the health risks has found.

The study of 46,000 women – the longest ever conducted – concluded that the pill has a strong preventative effect for ovarian, endometrial and bowel cancer.

The new research by the University of Aberdeen found that, although there was a slight increase in risk for breast and cervical cancer, it was only a temporary rise and the danger vanished a few years after stopping contraception.

Currently, Roy Morgan research shows just over 2.5 million Australian women between the ages of 18 and 49 (47.9%) use some form of contraception. The oral contraceptive pill remains by far the most popular method.

“These results from the longest-running study in the world into oral contraceptive use are reassuring,” said lead author Dr Lisa Iversen. “They provide strong evidence that most women do not expose themselves to long-term cancer harm if they choose to use oral contraception; indeed, many are likely to be protected.

“Because the study has been going for such a long time we are able to look at the very long term effects, if there are any, associated with the pill.

“Specifically, pill users don’t have an overall increased risk of cancer over their lifetime and that the protective effects of some specific cancers last for at least 30 years.”